A Change Of Heart
by Rosesdancinginmymind
Summary: Based on 2 prompts from Regina Fan: 1) Cora gets her heart back and she and Regina talk about the past and Cora says she sorry to Regina and that she always loved her and then both mother and daughter cry and hug. 2) Regina and Cora have car cash. And Regina is hurt badly. And Cora is there for her. I blended the two prompts a bit but otherwise this story follows those ideas


Regina Fan Prompt: 1 Cora gets her heart back and she and Regina talk about the past and Cora says she sorry to Regina and that she always loved her and then both mother and daughter cry and hug.

2nd Regina and Cora have car cash. And Regina is hurt badly. And Cora is there for her.

_I kind of blended the two prompts together so I hope that's okay. I'm kind of iffy on the title of this but I really just couldn't think of one so if anyone has a better suggestion please let me know. The story basically follows the idea of those two prompts. Thank you to Regina Fan for the ideas. Apologies for any mistakes. I don't own Once or its characters. Hope you enjoy :)_

"Regina can you come back please?" I ask in a begging tone. I really didn't mean to upset her once more but ever since my heart was returned to my chest every conversation we have seems to spin back to the same thing.

"_Regina can we please just talk?" _

"_About what mother? How you abused me? How you killed Daniel? Or how about how you never loved me?" _

"_Enough Regina! If you hate me this much why did you even take me in?"_

_She blinks hurt, "_**I** _love you" she mutters before storming out. _

I run after her as she gets in her car and quickly get into the passenger seat. "Get out" she says in a low tone. I can see the tell-tale signs of tears prickling her eyes. She may think I never loved her but even without my I tried. I know full well I failed. If I were her I would hate me but the thing about having a heart is that it made me realise the strength and potential of love and somehow in spite of everything I know Regina does love me. Even if I don't deserve it. She stares straight out of the window clearly waiting for me to leave. Not this time. I need her to know that I'm not going anywhere, that I do love her. I tug on the seatbelt device fumbling slightly as I clip it. This land has a multitude of strange devices to learn.

"I said get out" she repeats.

"I'm not doing that Regina. We need to talk"

"You think I hate you. What is there to talk about?" she asks bitterly.

"Everything Regina. Please" I plead hoping she'll let me apologise.

"Fine. Be quick. I need to get to Archie's, you know him. You faked his death and made it look like my fault" she quips though it doesn't cover the hurt in her voice. I sigh as she starts the car and flinch slightly at the noise of the vehicle.

"You wanted to talk so talk" she says curtly eyes trained on the road and not at me. Anywhere but me.

I hesitate. Where do I start? I caused so much damage, so much pain and to my own daughter. I thought I was helping her by saving her from the life I had but all I did was make her suffer. How do I begin to apologise for that?

"Say something!" she snaps hands gripping into the steering wheel so hard that her knuckles are cracking from the pressure.

"Regina I'm sorry I said what I did. I know you don't hate me. Lord knows you should but you never stopped loving me"

"And you thought I was weak because of it" she replies turning to look at me with a sorrowful frown as she stops the car at the coloured lights.

"I was wrong" I reply firmly looking at her.

The light goes green and she inches the car out turning her eyes back to the road. "Regina I –"

She cuts me off with a shout of "Mother!" as she pushes me to the floor. I gasp in surprise before hearing a loud crunch. Then it all goes black.

I groan as my eyes slowly open. The first thing that hits is the coppery smell of blood. I frown. What the hell happened? "Regina?" I ask slowly lifting up off the floor of the car. I can hear sirens. I can hear people shouting and asking what happened but not my daughter's voice. I blink trying to clear my vision.

"No" I gasp as the air leaves my lungs. The door on her side is bent inwards. Glass is shattered all over the dashboard and her legs. My daughter lies slumped over the steering wheel. Not moving. Bleeding. Barely breathing.

"Regina!" I cry feeling tears snake down my own face. No. This can't happen now. We just got another chance. I can't lose her now. She doesn't even know I love her. Our last words were an argument. I freeze. She can't die now. I vaguely hear someone telling me to get out of the car but I can't move. All I can focus on is the slow shaky rise and fall of her chest. Getting slower.

"Cora!" someone shouts before pulling me out of the vehicle. Away from my baby. "NO! Regina!" I shout as the person holds me back. "Cora let the EMTs get her out" the voice says keeping a firm grip on me as I attempt to free myself of their grasp. "Let go. I need to get my daughter!"

"Cora stop!" the voice yells and I turn to see it's Emma, the Sheriff of course. "I get it you're scared but there's nothing you can do"

Her words hammer in the sheer helplessness of the situation. _There's nothing you can do_. I cover my mouth as the sobs begin. I watch as men I don't recognise look over my daughter. "Why aren't they getting her out?!" I snap taking my frustration out on Emma. She frowns giving me a sympathetic look, "They can't yet. The steering wheel crushed her chest. They don't want to risk moving her until they can make sure she's stable"

"What?"

"It's putting pressure on her lungs" Emma explains taking in my confusion.

"She could die" I whisper my hand flying up to where my own heart is. "She can't. Emma she can't die. She doesn't know" I wail out not even caring about the messy tears streaking down my cheeks.

"She'll make it Cora. She's tough"

"You don't know that Emma" I reply tersely before ripping myself from her hold. I need to be with Regina. _Just please let her live_. There's so much I need to say to her. So much to apologise for but most of all I just need her to know I love her. I walk as quickly as I can over to the crushed car. It looks so much worse close up. I gasp again in shock seeing the state of the driver door. It's barely even recognisable as a door. I look over and see the car that hit us. Aside from a damaged front bumper it barely even looks like it was in a collision.

"The other driver has a concussion, they'll need a few stitches" the EMT tells me upon seeing me stare at the other car. "So they're fine?" I ask. He nods sadly as I look over to my daughter who is still unconscious. The other driver is fine. I'm fine. Why just Regina? It's not fair. She saved me I think remembering how she pushed me down. Oh god. She saved my life. She could die for me. I used to tell her that that kind of selfless brave love was weakness. I couldn't have been more wrong. It's strength. It saved me. I just hope it saves her too.

"Let's try getting her out" one of them says. "You need to step out of the way ma'am" I obey watching carefully as they slowly pull my daughter from the wreckage. She looks so small, so frail, so much like another time in a memory I never wanted to remember.

"_Cora hurry!" my husband calls. I lift my head up from my spell-books irritated by the interruption. "What?" I ask tersely. _

"_It's Regina. She fell out of her tree and she's not moving. Please do something!" he pleads. My breath hitches, some vague remnant of my soul still knows how to feel. My daughter is in danger. I can't let her die. _

_I walk out of the room following my husband. This is all her fault letting her run around with free reign over the grounds. I should have known such childish would have led to an accident like this. He really must be more careful with our daughter. She's so powerful and she will be capable of so much and he lets her run into the path of harm. _

"_How could you let this happen?" I ask harshly as we proceed into the grounds. _

_He flinches at my cold tone, "It was an accident. She wanted to climb the tree"_

"_She should be in lessons" _

"_She's six Cora. She should be having fun" _

"_Fun that gets her killed? Really dear?" _

_He frowns guiltily, "She's still a child. Just save her Cora. You're her mother. Do something" _

_I kneel down to where she's lying on the ground. At six she is tiny compared to other the children in the area. My baby. She looks smaller somehow while unconscious. I forget about being furious at her incompetent snivelling father behind me. It's up to me to save her, to protect her and I will. I'll save her today and she will have a good life. I'll make sure of it. _

"She's not breathing! Grab the scalpel, we'll do an emergency trache"

I stand frozen watching as they begin cutting my daughter and inserting some kind of tube. _Just live Regina_. _Please just live_. I repeat it for every moment that she doesn't breathe. She can't go. It's too soon. I can feel my own heart plummeting in my chest as my breath catches. I put my hands together wondering if anyone will hear my wish. No-one ever answered the wishes of my family before. If it helps I have to try though. _Please just let my baby live. _

"Okay, it's in. We need to get her to a hospital and fast" one of them says giving an urgent look to the other.

"Wait" I say stepping forward. "Can I come?" I ask. She came back to me. She's alive. I can't leave her now. The EMT nods at me as they hurry into an awaiting ambulance. He helps me up, "You need to get that cut looked at" he says to me. I frown before raising my hand up and feeling blood on my forehead. "I'm fine" I insist, "Just save my daughter" I say pushing his hand away keeping my gaze locked on Regina. I reach out for her hand before pulling away. What if I only hurt her more? The EMT notices my conflict, "You won't hurt her. It will be good for her to know you're here" he says kindly.

I nod and carefully take her hand in my own. "I'm here Regina, just please hang on sweetheart"

They take her away with me throwing words out into the air like "possible pneumothorax". Words I do not understand. Even I know though that they aren't good. They make me get stitches but I don't feel them. It all goes numb while I wait in one of the cramped stiff chairs in the waiting room. I just need her to be alright. To survive.

I don't know how long I sit there watching as a blur of doctors, nurses and other patients run by as if this is any ordinary day. It's a strange feeling watching the rest of the world go on whilst your own is falling apart. But then it is not their daughter lying on a table fighting for her life. It is not their daughter who could die before I had a chance to tell her I love her. That I have always loved her.

Finally those doors swing open. I stand immediately hoping this isn't what I've been dreading. The doctor scans the room before finding me. I can't read his expression. "Is she-?" I leave the question unfinished. I can't bring myself to say that word.

"She's alive" he says quickly and I let myself breathe. I can tell there's more news to come but she's alive. That's what matters.

"She's alive" I repeat. "Can I see her?" I ask. I need to see her with my own eyes.

"We're moving her up to a room now. Your daughter suffered a pneumothorax as a complication from a flail chest"

"What?" I have no idea what it means but judging from the grave look on his face I can tell it means she's not out of the woods yet.

"The trauma caused several of her ribs to detach from the chest wall, one of them punctured the lung causing the pneumothorax"

"Will she be okay?"

He frowns, "The surgery went well and we inserted a chest tube to fix the lung but we're going to need to keep an eye on her for the next few days to check how she's progressing"

"You didn't answer my question"

"I wish I could tell you yes or no but right now we just need to wait and hope for the best"

_Hope for the best_. I can do that. I can hope. I have to. I've never had much experience with hope in the past, I've never had a reason to. Right now though it's the only thing I have. I just wish that hope will be strong enough to save her.

I don't sleep. I just watch the rise and fall of my sleeping daughter's chest and listen to the steady beep of the monitors. These are the things that tell me she is alive.

It's been two days and she just lies there still. The doctor comes by every now and then. He tells me her lung is healing nicely. She's not awake though. That's what I want. I need to see her wake up. I smooth away some hair from her forehead wincing slightly at the various scrapes and bruises across her face. There's a mask covering her face, they were able to take the tube out yesterday. I assume that's a good sign. They reassure me that it is. But she's still not awake.

I take her hand in my own again. This is the hand that saved me. The one that put my heart back into my chest. The one that pushed me out of the way when that other car hit. I place a gentle kiss to the knuckles of that hand careful not to jostle the various wires poking out of her arm. I squeeze her hand softly, I need her to know I am here. That I'm waiting. She didn't give up on me and I won't give up on her.

"Regina sweetheart I don't know if you can hear me. I hope you can. I really need you to wake up. I miss you already honey and I know you think I never loved you but I did. I really did love you as much as I could. Without my heart I never told you and I never showed it in the right ways and god do I owe you so many apologies for that. When you put my heart back in my body it all came back and I need you to know that I do regret all the pain I caused you and I wish I could take it away. I know that I can't and that kills me. There are so many things I still need to apologise for and I know I don't deserve your forgiveness and I won't ask for it. All I'm going to ask is for you to know that I do love you and that I will do my best to prove that to you from now on. I just need you to wake up Regina. Please. I need you. You're my daughter and I'll be waiting right here, okay? Just I love you" I finish my impromptu speech feeling the tears slipping down my cheeks. I bow my head sniffing them away as I clasp her hand in both of mine.

The moments pass.

Then I feel something.

A slight pressure in my own palms. Then a squeeze. I look up, "Regina?" I gasp out. Her eyes stare back up at me and I put my hand up to my mouth to stifle the happy laugh that comes out. The grin stays on my face though. _She's awake_. She raises one hand up to move the mask aside, "Mom?" That one word makes my heart skip joyfully in my chest.

"Regina, how are you feeling?" I ask.

Her voice comes out slightly hoarse and croaky, "It hurts" she says weakly.

"I know honey. You really gave me quite a scare there"

"Sorry" she replies with a small smile.

I stand up before leaning closer to her, "Just please don't do it again."

"I won't"

"Good, I can't lose you Regina. No matter what you think I do love you and I"

"Mom I know. I love you too"

"I know"

"You do?" she asks in a small voice. A tear snakes down her cheek. "Hey" I whisper back wiping it away, "Of course I do. I didn't mean what I said Regina. I've always known you loved me. You loved me even when I didn't deserve it. Even after everything you never stopped. You have a good heart Regina. Don't forget that" I pause seeing that she is following my every word, "I know this might not be the best time but I need you to know something. I owe you so many apologies, Daniel, the way I treated you, making you marry the King and I know that an apology isn't enough, that it doesn't take away the pain I caused you but I need you to know that I am so sorry for hurting you so badly. I promise you that I love you and I will never hurt you again"

"Mom" she cuts in with a slight wheeze. I frown in alarm at the sound and wait for her to catch her breath.

"I know you love me. I want to forgive you but I can't. Not yet. But I want us to move on. Can we try that please?" she asks hesitantly a few traces of tears glimmering in her eyes. I can feel tears in my own too.

"Of course Regina, anything for you sweetheart" I reply before leaning down and hugging her the best I can. God I'm glad to be able to hold her in my arms again, I don't think I'll ever take it for granted like I used to when I was heartless, not now. I kiss on her forehead, "I love you, get some rest"

"Be here when I wake up?"

"I'll be here" I promise before sitting by her bedside, her hand still firmly clamped in mind. I wait for her to fall asleep. She woke up. I know there's still a long way to go but I know she'll be okay. With that in mind I let myself sleep.

(Six Weeks Later)

"Regina" I call out as I enter her room only to see her still under the now crumped covers. "She's still sleeping" comes the mumbled reply.

I smile while shaking my head, "Well she has her physiotherapy appointment in forty-five minutes so she might want to get up"

"Urgh go in my place" she grumbles tiredly.

"I'm not sure that's how it works sweetheart" I say with a slight smile before perching on the edge of the bed, "How are you feeling today?"

"Tired" she mumbles before slowly sitting up. They released her from the hospital three weeks ago after the doctors and her new physiotherapist were happy with her ability to move without aggravating her chest injury but they recommended twelve weeks of physical therapy and plenty of rest to ensure that the ribs heal rather than cause further injury. She may moan about the inconvenience and how she would rather be back at work than continue to let Charming run the town but I think we can both agree that not being Mayor for a while is a small price to pay for taking the time to heal properly.

"How many more weeks of this?" she asks before carefully stretching the way they showed her at the hospital.

"Nine"

"I think I'm going to go stir crazy" she jokes.

"We'll think of ways to prevent craziness my dear. You can introduce me to more of those show thingys on the magic box"

"For the last time mother it's called a television and after the way you cried over Grey's Anatomy do you really want to go through it all again?"

"It was a good show though darling even if it was tad sad. Do you think those two lesbians will get back together?"

"Callie and Arizona? I don't know Mom"

"Well I hope they do, they remind me of someone." I add wryly. My daughter rolls her eyes before getting up careful to align her posture. She stumble slightly and I catch her, "You okay?" I ask worriedly.

"I'm fine, I just slipped." At my worried expression she frowns, "Mom seriously I'm fine, you don't have to worry"

"I'll always worry about you Regina. You're my daughter. Even when you're fine I'll probably still worry because I'll want you to stay that way"

At that she smiles, "Thanks Mom"

"For what?"

"For being here, for helping me, you really have changed you know? So thank you" she says before hugging me. I hug her back before replying, "You don't have to thank me for that sweetheart. I love you and I'm happy to help you in any way I can"

"Still I'm glad you're here"

"Me too" I reply still keeping her in my arms. She gave me back my heart, my ability to love and I won't throw that away again. No, I owe her this much and for her I can change. I can be here and support her and give her everything I should have done since she was born. Right now I just hug her, happy she hugs me back, happy that I can. Who knows what the next nine weeks and after that will bring, all I know is that I'll be here if she needs me.

_All medical knowledge comes from Wikipedia and my love of Grey's Anatomy. Always happy to hear what you think. Thanks for reading :)_


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